Wish Upon A Star
by Fall Down Again Bella
Summary: So I'm like a male Cinderella?" Edward asked sarcastically. The woman smiled wickedly. "Exactly. Only your wish doesn't end at midnight. It's permanent. So I suggest you think it through first." Edward didn't hesitate. "I want it." All Human E/B Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Edward and his best friend Bella are geeks. They love reading and classical music, and other things considered "weird" by their classmates. Edward, sick of his unrequited love of the most popular girl in school and the way they're treated by the other students, makes a wish on a star to become the most popular boy in school. What happens when his wish comes true? And how come Bella is the only one who seems immune to the wish? All human. Told in third person POV, which is different for me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

Edward Masen woke up early on Monday morning, his alarm clock blaring in his ears. He groaned and rolled over in bed, hitting the snooze button and hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep. But that dream was quickly shattered when his mother's voice came yelling upstairs.

"Edward, dear, time to wake up! Can't be late on your first day of school!" Elizabeth Masen trilled and Edward let out another groan. School. Ugh. They should call it torture. That would be more appropriate. If it wasn't for Bella, Edward probably wouldn't have lasted the last three years of high school. She seemed to be the only person who didn't shy away from him like he was some sort of pariah. She enjoyed the same "uncool" books and music, and didn't seem bothered by their constant teasing from the other students.

"Come on Edward, breakfast will be ready in five minutes!" his mother yelled again, and her voice sounded closer. Edward stood, stretching lazily and letting out a yawn. As if school didn't suck enough, it had to be early in the morning, which was his least favorite time of day. He made his way over to his drawer and pulled out a pair of plain jeans and a ratty old t-shirt, before pulling a plain black hoodie on over it. He left his hair as messy as it always was, and stuck on his glasses, pushing them up his nose to make sure they wouldn't fall. Luckily his mother had let him get new classes—the world's meanest jock, Emmett McCarty had smashed his glasses last year, forcing him to have to tape them together. He was sick of being called "Harry Potter" whenever he walked the hallways at school.

"Edward are you up?" Elizabeth called again, her voice sounding impatient.

"I'm up, Mom!" Edward called back downstairs, rolling his eyes. He grabbed his old black backpack, sticking his favorite paperback in it along with his iPod, knowing he would need them during the boring school day. Edward didn't bother looking in the mirror—he already knew what he would see. Every year before the first day of school, his face completely broke out due to stress and nerves. He wasn't in the mood to see his face look like a pizza. He made his way into the kitchen, where both of his parents were sitting. His father was reading the newspaper, eyebrows pulling together in concentration and frustration. His mother was finishing putting butter on some toast and placing it all on a plate before pushing it towards him, smiling the whole time.

"Thanks Mom," Edward said, instantly digging into his food. His mother made the best breakfasts in the world. Most of the time Bella would come over to eat with him—she loved his mothers food as well—but since it was the first day, Bella had decided to skip on it.

"So dear, what are your plans for after school today?" Elizabeth asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Edward sighed, unable to believe she was starting this argument already. Elizabeth was constantly trying to get him to branch out and make new friends or join a sports team. Anything to socialize. He had told her he was perfectly content with Bella and the few other friends they had—Angela, Ben and Jasper. They were fine and all he needed. _More like all I can get_, Edward thought to himself, sighing again. Edward had honestly tried to make friends outside of his small social circle, but no one would accept him, for a reason he couldn't understand.

"I don't know Mom. I'll probably hang out with Bella or something," Edward said dismissively, trying to let his mother know without words that he didn't want to talk about his social life, or lack thereof.

"You should try out for the cross country team Edward. You've always been quite the runner," Elizabeth noted softly, still trying to sound casual. She didn't fully succeed. Edward could hear the undertone of worry and disappointment in her voice.

"Mom, I really don't like running competitively," he sighed. Elizabeth let out a sad sigh and Edward pushed his plate away. He wasn't hungry anymore. "Really, it's just not my thing. I'd better go. I don't want to be late." Edward stood and kissed his mother's cheek before departing, getting into his parent's Volvo. It wasn't a very nice car—nothing like the S60R he had always dreamed of—but it got the job done. Although he looked more like a mom picking up the kids from soccer practice than a teen cruising around town.

Edward knew he was going to be pretty early to school, and he definitely didn't want that. But he also couldn't stand to be in the house with his mother anymore. Her disappointment was too much to bear. It hurt that she didn't think Edward was good enough, that he wasn't happy the way he was. And maybe he wasn't. He shook his head, pulling out of the driveway, and started the familiar path to Bella's house. Edward knew she wouldn't have left her house yet, since her father didn't pester her like his mother did. Most of the time, Chief Swan was already gone anyways, leaving Bella in peace for the mornings. Edward envied this, although Bella seemed to love his family, the way the small family of three would eat together and loved each other. Edward would much rather have his independence.

He pulled outside of her house just as she was coming outside, the keys to her rusted down truck in her hands. Edward frowned—he never did like her driving that thing, it was a death trap on wheels, but Bella loved it. Edward swiftly honked the horn, causing Bella to jump, hand fluttering to her chest. She smiled when she saw it was Edward, a delicate blush appearing on her cheeks. She waved and bounded down the stairs and across the lawn to his car, tripping and catching herself on the mirror as she did. Edward snorted a laugh and Bella turned red again, letting herself carefully into the car.

"Thanks for the ride," she said, smiling up at him. Bella was wearing simple jeans a t-shirt, a unisex raincoat hiding her figure and an overstuffed backpack sitting on her lap. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she wasn't wearing make-up. She never did—it was unnecessary and took too long to put on. Plus, she knew that a little make-up wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't make the student body of Forks like her and it wouldn't make Edward see her as more than a friend.

Bella sighed. All through her breakfast she had been thinking of Edward. They had been best friends since freshman year, and Bella had fallen in love with him almost instantly. He was witty and smart, funny and sweet. He was even cute. When he took off his glasses, his green eyes sparkled like emeralds, and when he didn't wear baggy clothes, his body was actually pretty muscular. Edward, of course, was clueless to Bella's feelings, and Bella was going to keep it that way. She only had four friends, including him, and she didn't want to lose her best friend.

"No problem," Edward answered, feeling uncomfortable under Bella's scrutiny. He sometimes caught Bella looking at him, and it always made him feel self-conscious, especially since he never knew what she was thinking. Her facial expression was always detached, bored, guarded, never letting anything show. It was quite confusing to Edward. "Mom had started on the whole 'make new friends' thing and I couldn't stay home any longer, so I figured I'd come see if you needed a ride."

Bella nodded understandingly. She had been around Edward's mother enough to know how much his mother wanted him to make new friends. It was kind insulting to Bella that his mother didn't seem to think she was good enough for him. But who was she kidding? She wasn't and never would be. Edward was simply…perfect.

"Well it was very thoughtful of you," Bella said after a moment and Edward flashed her a crooked smile that made her melt. Edward turned on the radio to one of their favorite classical CDs, glad he had decided to pick up Bella. She was always good company, and now he wouldn't have to walk into school alone. "How was the rest of your week?"

"Good. Boring. I missed you," Edward answered. Bella had gone to Arizona for the last week to visit her mother, and Edward had missed her deeply. Sure, he could've called Angela and Ben or Jasper, but it was never quite as fun as hanging out with Bella.

"I missed you too. But it was good to see my mother. She's such a goof." Bella rolled her eyes and launched into an explanation of her week in Phoenix, which Edward listened to intently. Bella was always so funny and unpredictable in the way she described things, and he never said quite what he expected to hear. All too soon, they were pulled into the parking lot of the dreaded Forks High School, which was already filled with squealing girls and fist punching boys, everyone catching up on a summer apart. Bella instantly silenced herself, noticing Edward's distraction.

Bella knew that Edward wasn't content with his life. She knew that he wanted to be popular, to hang out with the beautiful girls and the jock boys, no matter how shallow he called them. She knew that he wished he wasn't so left out and unpopular. He felt like he was missing something and it always saddened Bella. She was sure Edward had the potential to be beautiful and she was almost worried he would discover it as well. She didn't want to lose him. Not to the popular girls that were always so mean to her.

"Ready to go?" Bella asked, pulling herself out of her depressing thoughts.

"As I'll ever be," Edward grumbled, watching a group of laughing boys, dressed in jeans and various polos and t-shirts, with obvious envy in his eyes. Bella reached over and squeezed his hand, feeling a little thrill as she did so. Edward looked away from the boys and turned to face his best friend. She had only concern for him in her eyes and Edward smiled back. "Let's go." Bella nodded and the two of them climbed out of their separate sides of the car, looking around for a friendly face, but there were none to be seen. Apparently, Jasper, Angela and Ben weren't at school yet. Edward and Bella hovered by the Volvo, unsure where to go.

"Let's just go to our lockers," Bella suggested, trying not to make eye contact with a group of girls near them. The girls were all beautiful and Bella couldn't be more jealous. There was Alice Brandon, with her short black hair and super thin body, who was probably the nicest of the group. And Rosalie with her model looks and long, flowing blond hair. Victoria with flaming red hair and a killer body, plus a boyfriend who would kick the ass of any man who dared look at his girl. Not to mention Tanya. Bella narrowed her eyes at Tanya. Strawberry blond hair, perfect body and bitchy attitude to top it all off. "Come on let's go," Bella insisted, tugging on Edward's hand to try and pull him away. But he was frozen.

He had seen her. Tanya. The love of his life. Unrequitedly, of course. Edward had admired Tanya from afar since she had moved here from Alaska last year. She was beautiful with her flowing, reddish blond hair and eyes that were almost an almost purple shade of blue. Her laughter flowed out to Edward, caressing him like velvet, encasing him and trapping him. He couldn't look away, and yet in the corner of his mind he knew if she caught him staring, she'd be disgusted.

"Edward, come _on_," Bella whispered, tugging his hand harder. She reached her hand up to his face, placing it on his cheek and forcing his head to turn and look at her. Edward snapped out of his reverie the moment Bella's soft hand had touched his cheek, and he grinned apologetically at her, but still feeling slightly angry she had made him stop looking away from his angel.

"What is your problem Edward?" Bella demanded. "You've been feeling this way for so long. Either do something about it or forget about it, but you can't stand here and ogle her like a creep. Let's go." _Hypocrite_, Bella thought to herself. Why couldn't she take her own advice?

"I wasn't ogling. I just…I don't know. I was admiring her from afar," Edward hissed back, glancing around to make sure no one was paying any attention to their conversation. No one was. As usual.

"Whatever you want to call it, it's still creepy," Bella snapped.

"Lover's quarrel?" came a snide voice from behind them and they both whirled around to see the devil herself standing in front of them. Tanya, Victoria and Rosalie had made their way over to Edward and Bella after seeing their low, intense conversation, not to mention the fact that Bella hadn't removed her hand from Edward's cheek yet. Bella quickly dropped her hand and turned a furious shade of red, not meeting the eye of any of the three beautiful girls in front of her. She could see Alice standing a few feet away, talking to an unfamiliar blond boy. Edward's mouth had dropped open in surprise, and he had yet to close it, making himself look like a gaping fish.

"We're not lovers," Bella finally stuttered after regaining her speech.

"Sure you're not," Tanya said sarcastically.

"We really aren't," Edward said quickly, chancing a glance up at Tanya. He didn't want her to get a misconception. He didn't want her to think he wasn't single, just in case. Although it was hopeless—Tanya was looking at him like he was something unpleasant on the bottom of her high heeled shoe.

"Question," Rosalie said suddenly, holding up one finger and pretending to think. "Why do we care?"

"We don't," Tanya and Victoria answered before bursting into laughter. The three of them shook their heads and made their way inside the school. Rosalie instantly draped herself on Emmett McCarty, leaving Victoria to toss herself at her boyfriend James. Tanya had several boys by her side, although she wasn't officially dating any of them.

"Well that sucked," Bella managed after a moment, staring after the three girls. They were all wearing skirts. "And who wears skirts like that? It's like fifty degrees outside! Their legs are going to freeze."

"But they look good in them," Edward said, still staring wistfully after Tanya. Even though she had been rude to him, it hadn't dampened his feelings for her. He still wanted her the way the earth wanted the sun. And yet she was just as unattainable as the sun. She was untouchable.

"Ugh!" Bella snapped, feeling jealous and annoyed. She stomped away from Edward, boots sloshing in the puddles from an earlier storm. Edward snapped his eyes away from Tanya and followed Bella guiltily.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, quickly trapping her waist in his arms and pulling her back. "They're bitches, I know. You can't help who you fall in love with," he said, shrugging and chancing a glance back at Tanya. She had her head tossed back in laughter as she listened to a joke some boy had just told her. Her hand was resting on his chest. Edward, feeling stung, turned right back to Bella.

"No, you can't," Bella mumbled. Edward was confused by what that was supposed to mean, but the moment he opened his mouth, Angela and Ben had entered the school building and were heading over to them, hand in hand.

"Hey guys!" Angela called excitedly. She let go of Ben's hand to give Bella a quick hug. Ben and Edward said hello to each other, catching up on the bits of summer they had missed as Bella and Angela did the same next to them.

"Has anyone seen Jasper?" Bella asked after a moment, peeking over Angela's shoulder and back outside, glancing around for their other friend.

"No," Angela answered, shaking her head. Edward looked around as well. Jasper was probably his best guy friend—they were closer than he and Ben—and Edward had been looking forward to catching up with him. Jasper had been away for most of the summer, so no one had seen him since the previous June. "It's been forever though. I can't wait till he gets here."

"Me neither," Edward agreed. He glanced at the clock and was surprised to realize there were only five more minutes until they had to go to homeroom and receive their schedules. He glanced around for Jasper again as Angela and Bella fell into a discussion of some recent novel they had both read. It was unusual for Jasper to be late, especially on the first day.

The bell rang soon after that, and there was still no sign of Jasper. Edward couldn't help but feel disappointed—you would think after a summer apart, Jasper would want to see his friends again. Bella agreed with his feeling. She missed Jasper as well. He was the only one who knew about her feelings for Edward—she hadn't told him of course, but he had figured it out easily. Jasper had an uncanny ability for almost feeling the emotions of those around him. He picked up on the love Bella had for Edward almost instantly, but promised not to say anything when she begged him not to tell. Bella had been looking forward to having someone to rant to for a few minutes.

"Well, I'd better get to homeroom," Edward said, saying goodbye to his friends.

"Bye Edward," Bella said with a wide smile, watching him wistfully as he walked away. Edward's homeroom was only a few minutes away, and he kept his head down as he walked, not wanting anyone to see him and make fun of him. He was able to slip unnoticed into his homeroom and took a seat in the back of the classroom, pulling out the paperback he had brought to school with him. It was a sci-fi, which was Edward's favorite genre, besides the classics.

"Okay, class, when I call your names, come up to the front of the room for your schedule," said the teacher lazily and Edward's stomach dropped. He would have to walk up in front of all those people. Why had he chosen a seat in the back again? "Lauren Mallory." A blond girl with a nasally voice stood up, walking down the aisle between the desks like it was a runway. Edward rolled his eyes. She was nowhere near as beautiful as Tanya. Edward went back to his novel.

"Edward Masen." Edward could feel his cheeks turning a shade of red to rival Bella as he made his way to the front desk, people snickering at his clothes and glasses as he walked. One boy stuck a foot out to try and trip him, but Edward expertly dodged it, having suspected something like that to happen. The boy looked disappointed. "Here's your schedule."

The teacher handed Edward the slip of paper and waved him off. Edward started back to his seat, staring at the paper, hoping he would have at least one friend in each class. Because he wasn't paying enough attention, the boy managed to trip him up this time. He stumbled, catching himself on a desk, managing not to fall flat on his face. Everyone laughed and Edward's stomach boiled with anger. The teacher didn't even say anything. Edward hurried back to his desk, watching the floor intently, his cheeks a brilliant shade of red.

Edward sank down in his chair, grateful to have made it back unscathed. He stuck my schedule back under my nose and began reading the classes. He had English first, followed by Spanish, Physics, AP American history, lunch, gym and AP calculus. It looked like an all around boring schedule, filled with classes that would be a breeze for him. He hoped Bella would be in a lot of his classes; and Jasper, Ben and Angela as well. Classes were much more tedious when Edward didn't have any friends in his classes. But they were all in advanced classes, so they had more of a chance to be in the same class.

The bell rang, signaling the start of first period and he hurried from his seat, off to his English class. He was greatly enthused to see Bella sitting down in a seat in the back, and he hurried to occupy the seat next to her. They instantly began comparing schedules, and Edward was ecstatic to see they shared all the same classes except for physics and calc. That would make his day much more bearable.

Bella was thinking much along the same lines. She couldn't be happier that she and Edward shared most of the same classes. She wanted to spend all of her time with him if she could. And that way choosing project partners would be much less difficult. Normally, Bella would be paired with whoever was the odd person out from a different group, often having to do most of the work herself. With Edward, she knew that they would work equally.

"This is great!" Bella said excitedly as she handed Edward back his schedule. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't in my classes."

"I know," Edward agreed instantly. "Let's hope Ben, Angela and Jasper are in some of our classes as well."

"Yeah, definitely," Bella agreed. The teacher called the class to attention then and they both turned back to the front of the classroom, Bella unable to wipe the small smile off of her face. She barely listened to the English teacher as he prattled on about books they were going to read and their senior theses. She had heard it all before and it would be simple for her. Plus she had already read all of the books he talked about, so she just had to take her pick. Although maybe she'd reread them for fun.

The class flew by and Edward and Bella began making their way to Spanish. They were glad to see Angela in this class as well, and the three of them spent the period chatting contently to each other. Edward had physics next, which he made his way to alone. He was grateful to see Ben in there, since both Angela and Bella weren't in this class. It was good to have one friend to talk to. After that was history, which Edward had with Bella. They chatted again, discussing a book they had recently read. The bell rang quickly and the two of them made their way to lunch. Of course, on the way, they ran into the crew of jocks that all hated Edward. Edward's palms began to sweat when he spotted them, and he tried to act casual so Bella wouldn't notice. He kept his eyes on Bella so he wouldn't make eye contact with them. Bella seemed to be thinking along the same lines, keeping her eyes averted. But of course, the bullies noticed them.

"Oops," James said as he "accidentally" tore Edward's backpack. The bottom ripped (it was so old and ratty it didn't take much to break it) and all of Edward's papers, his iPod and novel all fell out, scattering across the floor. Edward's cheeks flamed and anger boiled in the pit of his stomach.

"My bad loser," James called to the cackles of his friends. Edward leaned down to pick up his things and Emmett pushed his glasses from the back, making them fall on the floor. James had moved his leg, an eager and menacing smile on his face, about to step on them. But Bella could see Edward was ready to burst and she felt white hot anger stab her insides. She stepped forward and pushed James away, causing him to stumble since he already had one foot lifted to step.

"Stop it," Bella commanded angrily, narrowing her eyes at James.

"Oh come on baby, don't be that way," James cooed, slinging one arm over her shoulder. Bella cringed away from his touch. Edward stood up, ready to beat James with a stick, thinking of how inappropriate it was for him to be touching Bella.

"Get off me, asshole," Bella snapped. She grabbed his arm and twisted it until it was behind his back and then jerked her knee into his crotch. James instantly doubled over in pain, clutching his parts. His friends burst out laughing, making fun of him for getting beat up by a girl. Bella's anger was slowly edging away and embarrassment was creeping its way in. She knew she shouldn't have done that.

"Well, Masen," James said after regaining his breath. He flinched as he stood up straight, but tried to hide it. "Looks like you have to have your little girlfriend fight your battles for you. I guess I'll stay away from you to keep away from your big bad girlfriend." His voice was bitingly sarcastic and Edward felt embarrassed. Bella shouldn't have to fight his battles. He should be manly enough to do it himself. James kicked Edward's bag once and walked off with a group of his friends, some of which were still teasing him about getting kicked in the crotch by Bella.

"Edward are you okay?" Bella asked, care in her voice, leaning down to help him gather his stuff.

"I'm fine," Edward snapped. "You shouldn't have done that Bella." His voice was cold and harsh. Bella's eyes stung with tears.

"Sorry I was just trying to help," she mumbled, not meeting Edward's eye.

"Just don't next time. I'm already considered weak enough around here I don't need them thinking I need you to fight my battles." Edward knew his anger was misplaced, but he didn't care. He gathered the rest of his stuff in his arms, tossed his destroyed backpack in a trash barrel and stalked off, anger coursing through his veins along with the shame that reddened his cheeks.

Bella felt horribly guilty and upset as tears gathered in her eyes. She wiped them away furiously. She was only trying to help. She didn't mean to get Edward even more hated by the other students. It wasn't her fault. Why did he have to be mad at her? She didn't do anything. She stalked in the other direction, wanting to calm down before going to lunch.

As Edward began to cool down, he realized he should apologize to Bella. He had taken his anger out on her, and it wasn't her fault. He was just angry with James. It was actually pretty funny how she had beat up a guy twice her size. He knew he shouldn't have snapped at her, but he was having a horrible day.

The girl he loves hates him, he trips in front of his whole class, his backpack gets destroyed and a girl fights his battles for him. _Could my day get any worse?_ Edward thought as he entered the cafeteria. He froze. The answer was clear.

Yes. Yes it could.

**A/N: So what do you all think? I don't write much third person, but when I started this it just didn't sound right in first person to me, so I had to switch it up. And I stopped here because the chapter is already over 4000 words and it needed to end someplace. Thanks to my beta .miserable . fate. for helping keep me in 3rd person! REVIEW!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

Whenever any student walked into the cafeteria, the first thing they would see is the popular table. Long, rectangular, beautiful students lounging on the chairs or on the table, chatting, laughing, looking like a scene from a movie. The table was right in the middle of the cafeteria, by the door, so no matter what, you would have to see them when you first walked in.

Edward was used to this. Normally, he tried not to pay attention to the table, choosing instead to wait until he was safely seated at his table—a small round table in the corner, as far away from the popular table as they could get in the tiny cafeteria—to stare longingly at the table, but today he noticed something different about the popular table.

There was Victoria, sitting on James' lap and cooing into his ear and he smirked like he was the luckiest guy on Earth. Emmett was sitting near him, Rosalie leaning against him, his arms wrapped around her. Tanya was, as usual, surrounding by various boys, all of whom longed for her affection (Edward felt a familiar pang in his chest as Tanya flirted with them). The only difference was Alice Brandon. Short, perky, and the nicest in the group, Alice normally sat with Rosalie and Emmett, choosing not to be like Tanya and flirt with her many admirers (and she had plenty).

But today, Alice Brandon wasn't sitting with Rosalie and Emmett. In fact, she was sitting at the other end of the table, with a tall, lean blond man, their heads close together as they talked, a genuinely happy smile on both of their faces. At first, Edward just thought it was new student who had caught Alice's eye. But as he examined the boy, he realized there was something familiar about him. The blue eyes, the tall, thin body, the pale blond hair.

Edward froze halfway to his table, eyes going wide. He had just gotten close enough to the blond and was squinting, trying to place him. And close enough to hear the conversation going on between Alice and the boy. Close enough to hear Alice's bell-like giggles as she spoke his name.

"Jasper, stop," she giggled, cheeks flushing pleasantly. Jasper. Edward knew it. His best friend Jasper…was sitting at the popular table.

How was this possible?

Edward had tried for ages to get an invite to that table, and it took Jasper one day to do it? After all of the years of being considered a loser along with him, Bella, Ben and Angela, Jasper was just suddenly…popular? Sure, he had sprouted up at least a foot over the summer, his hair looked cleaner and it looked like he had found some miracle acne cleanser, but he was still the same geek on the inside, wasn't he? So what did they see in him that they refused to see in Edward?

"Keep walking Edward," a voice whispered from behind him. Edward didn't realize he had been frozen and staring for much longer than was appropriate, until Bella came up from behind him and began steering him towards their usual table. Edward walked slowly, mechanically, feeling an odd mixture of envy, fury and hurt. He just didn't understand it.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked, placing one hand on his cheek to try and get him to look at her. Edward just shook his head. The moment Bella had seen Edward frozen, and seen Jasper at the popular table, she forgot all about her anger at Edward, and had to help him, knowing the pain he was feeling would be awful. Bella turned to peek at the popular table, and noticed Jasper was looking their way. He had an apologetic look in his eye as he met Bella's gaze. Bella just shook her head, trying not to let the tears in her eyes show. They were a mixture of tears for herself and Edward—of course she missed her friend, but she knew what this would do to Edward. She knew that he would see it as something he did wrong, something that was missing in him that made it impossible for him to become friends with the jocks, whereas Jasper was able to manage it after a summer away.

"Did you guys see Jasper?" Angela whispered, sinking into the chair next to Bella, a lunch tray in her hands. Bella nodded, dropping her hand from Edward's cheek. Ben was sitting next to her, glaring over at Jasper. Angela looked close to tears as well, but she was much better at concealing them than Bella was.

"He grew so tall," Bella commented absentmindedly as she stared at Jasper again. He was absorbed in his conversation with Alice again, not paying attention to them. Jasper had definitely given his hair a good wash and cut, and he had grown, taking away his chubbiness as well. His face looked smooth, and without the thick glasses he usually wore, his icy blue eyes shone with enthusiasm. Bella could tell by the way he looked at Alice that this was the reason that he had changed himself to fit their standards.

When Jasper had confronted Bella about her secret infatuation with Edward, he had admitted to his love for Alice Brandon. Bella thought, at the time, that it would be impossible. Even if he did manage to talk to Alice, she would never go against her friends, at least Bella thought so. Jasper admitted that they had worked together on a project that their teacher had paired them together for. Jasper said that he fell in love with her smile, her laugh, her bubbly personality. She had been perfectly friendly to him as they worked, but after merciless teasing from her friends, she eventually ended their friendship, and broke Jasper's heart.

Bella knew he would do anything, _anything_, to get Alice back, and it seemed he had finally succeeded. Bella knew she should feel happy for him, for finally managing to secure the girl of his dreams, but she could only feel jealous and angry. Jealous that he had gotten his love when she had yet to get hers, and anger that he was ignoring them, and hurting Edward this way. He knew that Edward wanted nothing more than to be with Tanya and her friends, and he knew that this would hurt Edward. But his love for Alice was stronger than his loyalty to his friend.

Bella understood. She knew she would gladly give up Angela and Ben if it meant she could have Edward. And she also knew she would give up Edward if it would make him happy. She knew that she would turn her back on the world for Edward, and she couldn't blame Jasper. As much as she missed her friend, as much as he had hurt Edward, she couldn't really blame him. He had done it for love.

"I just don't understand," Edward admitted after a moment, and his voice was weak and tired. He just wanted his friend back. He wanted the popular kids to accept him, so he could get his friend back and be with Tanya, and live the life he ought to live. How come Jasper got to live out his dream, but he didn't? It didn't seem fair. It wasn't right. Jasper had never even told Edward he wanted to be popular. Never.

"Look, let's just forget about him for now," Bella suggested, wanting to help Edward feel better. "Are you hungry? Let's go get a sandwich or something." She took Edward's hand and stood, trying to pull him up.

"Fine," he sighed, reluctantly getting up. Another part of the popular table, a part they had chosen, no doubt, was that to get to the lunch line, you had to pass right by their table, no matter what angle you came through. Bella and Edward didn't want to pass Jasper, but they knew it was inevitable. Edward kept his eyes averted as they passed, fidgeting with his fingers, but Bella looked over, meeting Jasper's eye again. He looked apologetic, and pain and tears rushed to her eyes as she remembered the countless hours she had spent with Jasper and Edward. Jasper made a move that made it look like he was going to get up, but thought better of it and sank down onto his chair again. Bella bit her lip and looked away, trying not to cry.

When they reached the lunch line, Bella didn't feel very hungry anymore. She grabbed a banana and a water bottle for herself and Edward ordered a turkey sandwich. They paid quickly and hurried back to their table, neither of them looking towards the popular table. They sat back down with Ben and Angela, who were sharing a tray of food. Ben had pulled out a comic and immersed himself in it, and Angela was switching between picking at her food and staring over at Jasper.

Edward picked at his sandwich, not really tasting it, and wishing he had packed something instead of bought, since cafeteria food was always disgusting. Bella picked at her banana, eating bits and pieces before finally just tossing it in the closest trash barrel. The four friends didn't talk much—they were all taking the loss of one of their close friends to "the dark side" pretty hard.

They were all grateful when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Bella and Edward walked together to gym, Bella grumbling complaints the whole time. She hated gym, but at least she had Edward to catch her if she fell, and to be on her team if they had to pick. Luckily, since it was the first day, they didn't have to change. Instead, uniforms were distributed and the teacher droned on about which sports they would be studying this semester. Bella read the whole time, leaving Edward to wallow in self pity for the period.

Bella was angered and annoyed when Jasper walked into the gym with Alice and Tanya. Jasper and Alice were walking side by side, almost, but not quite touching, and Tanya was on Alice's other side, chattering away as Coach Clapp rolled his eyes at their lateness. Bella saw Jasper's eyes flicker to her, then Edward, and then to his shoes. He looked embarrassed and ashamed, but Bella couldn't deny the happiness in his face when he looked at Alice. She wanted Jasper to be happy, of course, she just wished it didn't have to hurt Edward so much in the process.

After gym, Bella headed to her creative writing class alone. She didn't know of anyone in her class, and was surprised when Alice and Jasper sat down at the table next to her. Jasper gave her a pleading look, and Alice smiled in a friendly way. Bella smiled tentatively back. Jasper was sitting closest to her, and when Alice was distracted, he leaned towards Bella.

"I'm sorry, Bells, you know that," he whispered rapidly.

"You know this kills him," she hissed back.

"Bella I love her," he muttered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she hadn't heard. "You know that. Wouldn't you change for Edward?" Bella bit her lip—she couldn't deny it. She would give everything for him; she would change herself in any way.

"I would," Bella finally answered with a sigh. "I just…I wish he wasn't hurting so badly. I wish I could help him, but I can't. Can you talk to him?"

"I can try," Jasper said. He glanced at Alice over his shoulder and turned back to Bella, his voice intense and low. "But you know I won't give this up. I won't give her up." As their eyes locked, a moment of understanding passed through them. Bella knew Alice was more important to him than anything. Jasper knew that Bella understood him, and that she would do the same for Edward.

"Okay. Just…try." Jasper gave her a small, sad smile.

"I do miss you guys Bells. All of you." Bella gave him a weak smile back, trying not to cry.

"We miss you too Jas."

"Jasper, look at this," Alice said with a giggle, pulling out her cell phone. Jasper gave Bella one more small, apologetic smile, before turning back to the love of his life. He looked at whatever was on her cell phone and chuckled before giving her one of the most adoring looks ever. It was so clear to see that Alice was like the sun to him, and he was the Earth, circling, dependant on her light and warmth to keep him strong. Bella just hoped she wouldn't hurt him. He deserved happiness.

The school day ended and Bella made her way back out to Edward's car, waiting for him to arrive so they could go home. Bella was getting a little anxious when Edward didn't show up in the next ten minutes. Almost all of the students had already filed out, getting into their cars and driving off. The popular crew had passed by a few minutes ago, and Bella had sent a glare their way before turning back to wait for Edward.

After fifteen minutes, Bella finally spotted him. And she gasped when she did.

His eye had been blackened, clearly someone had hit him. He was holding his glasses in his hand, which were bent out of shape with one lens missing, although Bella could see it was clutched in his other fist. The papers in his hands were damp, like they had been tossed into a puddle. Bella ran to Edward instantly, feeling hot tears of anger rushing to her eyes at whoever had done this.

"Oh, Edward, are you okay?" she gasped.

"I'm fine," Edward growled. There was embarrassment and fury and resentment in his voice. He had met up with James a few minutes ago. James was looking for revenge from his earlier shame of getting taken down by a girl. So he took it out on Edward, since he knew he couldn't take it out on a girl.

"Look's like your girlfriend's not here to save you know, Masen," James had taunted before promptly punching Edward in the side of his eye, causing his glasses to smash into his skull and stars to pop up in his vision. By the time Edward had regained his strength, James was gone. He took off his now crooked glasses and made his way outside—where he had met Bella. And his embarrassment grew, knowing she had defended herself against James and he couldn't. He felt weak. Not masculine.

"Are you sure?" Bella asked tentatively.

"I'm fine," Edward hissed again, slamming himself into the car and jamming the keys into the ignition. Bella slid into the passenger seat next to him, feeling slightly afraid. Edward turned on the radio and backed out of the now empty parking lot, already speeding towards Bella's house. Normally, they would hang out at his house, do homework and chat, but Edward wasn't in the mood. He just wanted to go home and brood by himself. He wanted…to be honest, he wanted to be popular.

He wanted to be with Jasper and the popular kids. He didn't want to deal with this life of an outcast. Sure, he loved Bella, Ben and Angela. They were his best friends, especially Bella. But…if there was some way he could be popular and could finally secure Tanya as his own—well then, maybe it would be worth it. He bit his lip as he thought of the pain that would surely cause Bella. But maybe he could somehow juggle both, being friends with Bella and being popular.

_Why am I even thinking about this?_ Edward wondered to himself. _It's not like it's ever going to happen._ Edward sighed. Of course it wouldn't. Jasper may have succeeded in climbing to the top of the social ladder, but it seemed that every time Edward tried, he just got kicked back down to the bottom.

Bella watched Edward's face carefully during the car ride. He was silent, and she wasn't going to break the silence. She saw all sorts of emotions flit across his face—anger, longing, envy, pain, sadness—it seemed impossible that he could feel this many things at once. Bella knew he was doing some serious thinking, and she could only hope that whatever he was thinking him was leading him in the right direction. To a happier life.

If Bella was being honest with herself, she never wanted Edward to become popular. She would much rather have him stay with her, and maybe, impossibly realize the love she felt for him, and feel it back. But she wanted him to be happy more than she wanted herself to be happy. So she hoped that he could find his popularity and his dream girl, even as the pain burned deep in her chest as she thought of it. She would endure the pain to make Edward happy.

They were at Bella's house sooner than she would have thought possible. She didn't realize that he had been speeding more than usual in his anger. Normally she would've protested, but she knew he was angry, and she didn't want to stoke the fire anymore than it already was.

"Thanks for the ride," Bella said weakly and Edward nodded curtly. Bella bit her lip, feeling like she should say or do something, comfort him, anything.

"I talked to Jasper today," she blurted and then flinched as Edward whirled around to face her, glaring.

"What'd he have to say for himself?"

"He loves her Edward," Bella said gently, softly. "You know he didn't want to hurt any of us. But he…he truly loves Alice. You would give us all up for Tanya, wouldn't you?" Bella hoped Edward didn't notice her flinch at the thought.

Edward had to admit, he would. But not without an explanation. And he would try, at least, to stay friends with Bella, Angela and Ben. He wouldn't just…leave them behind. Or would he? How would Edward ever know if it didn't happen?

"Look, Edward, I know it hurts to lose a friend. I know it hurts that Jasper has…well, he has what you want. But…Jasper is happy now. He's in love. Don't you want him to be happy?" Bella continued, noticing the thoughtful expression on Edward's face as he thought through her words.

"I suppose," Edward sighed after a few moments. "I want him to be happy. I just…can't believe he would leave us like this. After so many years." Edward just shook his head.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bella asked softly. She began to reach towards him, but thought better of it, dropping her hand back down to her side.

"I'm fine," Edward said, blinking twice before turning back to Bella. "See you tomorrow." It was a clear dismissal. Bella bit her lip and climbed out of the Volvo. She made her way back inside, hoping that Edward found whatever it was he was looking for—even if that meant leaving her behind.

**A/N: What'd you all think? Any good? I hope I explained Jasper's situation well enough...I don't want him to seem like a bad guy. He's just a guy in love. Thanks to my wonderfully awesome beta .miserable . fate. for helping keep my tenses correct and my grammar proper.**


	3. Chapter 3

"How was your day dear?" Elizabeth Masen asked as Edward entered his home, twenty minutes after dropping Bella off. Normally he was home sooner, especially at the speeds he tended to drive at, but today he had decided to take it slow, give himself time to think and compose himself as he drove towards home. He had already decided on a decent cover up story for his black eye, although he knew his mother would probably see right through it. He still wasn't going to tell her the truth.

"Fine," Edward answered, hoping to rush upstairs before she could see him, but she turned at that moment, letting out a small gasp of surprise. She ran over to him and Edward resisted rolling his eyes—mothers were so overprotective sometimes. Elizabeth's hands fluttered around her son's face helplessly, trying to figure out something to do. His eye was blackened and swollen.

"What happened to you?" she gasped, placing a hand on Edward's cheek. He brushed it off.

"Nothing. I just tripped and I hit my eye on the mirror of the car," Edward lied quickly and easily. He knew it wasn't a very clever story—that would be more like something Bella would do than him—but he hoped his mother would buy it. He didn't want to tell her the awful, embarrassing truth.

"Oh, dear," Elizabeth gasped. She tenderly placed her fingers on his eye, trying to judge the extent of the damage. It didn't look too bad to her, but she still hurried to the refrigerator to get him an ice pack. Edward groaned when he saw it, feeling a blush appear on his cheeks.

"I don't need ice Mom," he sighed impatiently. "The swelling will go down soon and the bruise will be gone by the end of the week." It was true. He had experienced many injuries, along with watching Bella recover from her self-inflicted wounds, and knew that bruises healed best when left alone.

"It would help with the swelling. You'll be able to see better," Elizabeth said anxiously, trying to persuade her son into taking the ice. Edward took it out of pity, kissing her cheek with a word of thanks and hurried upstairs, promptly dropping the ice pack into the sink in his bathroom to melt. Edward walked into his closet and pulled out the new bag his mother had bought him for back to school—it was Under Armour and black, durable looking at least, although Edward didn't normally choose name brands. He transferred the small mess of notebooks and papers from his ruined old backpack into the new one and zipped it up. At least James wouldn't be able to rip this one.

Edward placed the new pack by the foot of his bed and tried to find something to do, something to occupy his time with to keep thoughts he didn't want to think about out of his head. He turned his radio on, fiddling through different stations—all commercials—before finally deciding to put on one of his favorite calming CDs. It was a mix CD Bella had made him, filled with all sorts of relaxing piano pieces and calming violins. Edward spread himself onto his bed, sighing, closing his eyes and trying only to focus on the music, the complicated melodies and harmonies, thinking of the notes in his mind as the songs continued to play.

But he wasn't able to stay distracted for long. Eventually, his thoughts returned to his horrible first day of school. James, Jasper, Tanya, and Bella all flashed through his mind at top speed, like he was watching a tape on fast forward. He could remember James' sneering face, Tanya's utter perfection, Jasper's apologetic looks and new style and Bella's kind words and smile. Edward wanted badly to hit something—nothing in his life was going right. Nothing the way it was supposed to go.

Jasper was supposed to be his best friend—guy friend at least. They would finish their hellish high school years and go off to some advanced college to become successful and rich, and rub it in their old classmates' faces at the ten year reunion. They would be the best men at each others' weddings. Their wives would be friends and they'd get together for dinner at least once a week. Their children would grow up and get married, being sure to carry out the Masen-Whitlock friendship for eternity. It was their plan. They had laughed about it and dreamt about it since kindergarten.

And now it was ruined. He knew Jasper had feelings for the pixie girl he had changed himself for, but he had never known the extent of those feelings. He had never thought Jasper cared about Alice in the way Edward cared about Tanya. Why didn't Jasper tell him? Did he think Edward wouldn't understand? Plus, how had Bella known so much about it?

Edward sighed. All of this thinking wasn't doing him any good. He should just forget about Jasper. After all, he still had Bella—the maid of honor at his wedding and their children could get married. He should be happy. Bella was a wonderful person—selfless, trusting, warm, caring. But Edward couldn't feel fully happy, knowing what eluded him and what had found Jasper. Like something was missing from his essential make-up, like there was a glitch in his system when he was born.

Edward didn't like to think about it. He knew it would only make him angry, or sad, or maybe both. He rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow. He didn't move from that spot until he heard his cell phone ringtone blaring from his backpack. He groaned—he wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone. But it might be Bella, and it might be important, so Edward grudgingly pulled himself off of his bed and grabbed his cell phone, answering it without glancing at the caller ID.

Never a good idea.

"Hello?" Edward answered, sounding grumpy. He knew he did, but he couldn't help it—his mood tended to affect his tone even when he tried to keep himself composed.

"Hey," a deep voice answered on the other side, a voice filled with guilt and apologies.

Edward promptly hung up the phone.

After a moment of thinking, he realized that was not the smart, nor the polite thing to do. He was angry and he knew that. But he shouldn't have hung up on Jasper. It wasn't really anger at Jasper that had prompted him to hang up his cell phone. It was the joy—the small, barely noticeable tone of complete happiness that Edward heard louder than the rest of his voice. Because Edward knew that Jasper had found happiness and contentment where he was—something he had never fully had before. And Edward was envious of that.

After quite a few minutes of deliberation, deciding he could at least listen to what Jasper had to say. After all, they had been best friends since childhood. He called Jasper's cell phone back. Jasper answered on the second ring.

"Listen, I know you're mad," Jasper began quickly, rushing his words. Edward could tell Jasper was afraid he would hang up again, and wanted to get his words out quickly before Edward could hang up on him again. "But you have to understand. While I was away this summer, at a whole different place than I was used to, there was this girl. Her name was Maria. We weren't really very close, but she had sort of a crush on me, or so I thought. I guess she just wanted to give me makeover." There was a hint of anger and resentment at this Maria character. Edward didn't like the sound of her—it sounded like she was just trying to turn Jasper into what she wanted.

"So I let her. It started out gradually, she just suggested a shampoo I might like and I used it and it helped a lot. And then she'd be a bit more forceful, leaving acne cream and shit on my bed during dinner. She even ordered a prescription for contacts for me and started buying me clothes. That's where I drew the line. It was starting to get creepy, like she was trying to turn me into a clone or something. But she never knew how much she truly helped." Edward listened to Jasper's story with fascination. It sounded like Maria was a twisted version of his fairy godmother. Edward nearly snorted at the thought.

"At first, when I got home, I was just going to toss all of the crap out. But I got to thinking…if Maria liked this stuff…and I was getting more attention when I wore it…then would Alice like it? Would it be enough for the kids in my hometown so that I could be with the woman of my dreams? I had to try. I would try anything for her." Jasper's tone had turned wistful, loving, caring, adoring. It was almost sickening to listen to. "And the first thing she did when I pulled up was come over and give me a big hug, like we had been best friends for years. And then she kissed my cheek and told me she missed me. And then…well, then I couldn't leave her side. Not even if I tried."

Edward sighed. He didn't know what to say to his best friend—probably the only time they had never had something to talk about. On one hand, he could understand exactly why Jasper did the things he did, and on the other, he hated and envied him for it. Jasper's breathing seemed to still as he waited for Edward to answer him. The pause grew longer as tension grew thick. Edward wanted to say something, but he didn't know what.

"I suppose I understand," Edward said finally, his voice coming out in a whoosh of breath. He was surprised—he hadn't realized he had been holding his breath for so long. "I just wish there was another way…some way we could both be happy."

"I know exactly what you mean," Jasper sighed. "But I can't have it both ways. I can try. But…Alice is…she's my everything." He spoke as if she was his goddess, someone to worship and love. "I wouldn't give her up."

"I just…I have to go," Edward said abruptly, slamming his phone shut. He laid back on his bed and closed his eyes, feeling a migraine coming on. He groaned and placed a pillow over his eyes, trying to block out all sound and light. Edward tried very hard not to think as he slowly sank into unconsciousness.

Across town, Bella Swan was just finishing up dinner for her father. She poured the noodles she was cooking into a strainer, draining it of all the boiling water. Then she poured it into a separate bowl, adding the sauce. Charlie Swan came into the house as Bella finished setting the table. She heard him come in and scooped a generous amount of pasta into his bowl before giving herself a smaller portion.

"That you Bells?" Charlie called as he kicked off his shoes and hung up his gun belt.

"Yeah Dad," Bella called back, rolling her eyes as she always did when her father asked that question. Would a burglar be making himself a snack before making off with their electronics and jewelry? "Perfect timing. I just finished dinner."

"Smells great," Charlie complimented her, sitting down in the chair across from her. Bella and her father ate in near silence. Without anything to distract her, Bella began to feel the sadness and hopelessness she had managed to avoid with pointless chores and homework since Edward had dropped her off. Bella knew that Edward could be popular—if he got contacts, maybe a haircut or something. Bella already saw Edward as beautiful. She knew that with the proper products, like what Jasper had done, he could easily be just as beautiful to everyone else. That worried her. Would they only like him for his looks? Or, even worse, would they still not accept him? Did the students at Forks High really hold a grudge on Edward that strong?

"You look distracted," Charlie noted as he helped himself to seconds. Bella shrugged, taking a bite of her food. She had only been picking at it before, too much on her mind. "How was school?"

"Same as usual," Bella sighed.

"How's Edward? Jasper?"

"Fine," Bella answered, deciding vague truths were best at this point. The less Charlie knew the better.

"That's nice," Charlie said before taking another large bite of spaghetti. Bella pushed hers away, not really hungry anymore. She stood and cleaned off her bowl and the bowls she had used to cook before putting them away in the cabinets. By the time she had finished this, Charlie had ambled into the living room to watch television, so she could clean off his bowl and glass as well.

Bella went straight upstairs after dinner, starting some of the homework she was assigned. She debated about calling Edward for a while, before finally deciding against it. He probably needed some alone time anyways. She even thought about calling Jasper, but eventually decided against that as well—he would probably be with Alice or someone. She didn't want to bother him.

Bella sighed, lying back on her bed and staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. She didn't usually feel so lonely. Sure, sometimes she did when she saw two best girl friends walking down the hallway, and wished she had a close girlfriend—besides Angela obviously. Angela was nice, of course, but she had as little experience as Bella in the boy area. The only boy she had ever liked was Ben, and she got him easily. She wouldn't know how to help Bella make Edward fall in love with her. She just wanted someone she could talk to about her love for Edward, someone who could help her out, give her advice, anything.

Bella sighed and decided to push the issue to the side of her mind, at least for the rest of the night. She felt exhausted, even though it was still early. She just wanted to go to sleep and get this horrid first day behind her. Bella kicked off her jeans and curled up under her blankets, pressing a pillow over her head to block out the sound, but she still wasn't able to fall asleep. She sighed and sat up, grabbing her cell phone off of the side table next to her and speed-dialing Edward's number. It rang and rang, but he didn't answer. Bella hung up without leaving a message, wondering who to call next. She finally decided on Jasper.

"Hello?" he answered after a few rings.

"Hey," Bella said, and she could hear the sadness in her voice, the loneliness. She was sure Jasper picked up on it as well.

"What's up?" he asked in his familiar sympathetic tone.

"Nothing, I guess. I just...I don't know. Did you talk to Edward?" Bella asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah. We're going to try and stay friends, but I can tell he resents me," Jasper sighed, and he sounded sad about the fact.

"He doesn't resent you Jasper," Bella said instantly. "He's just jealous."

"I just wish there was something I could do. To make him popular, you know?" His voice was hopeful, like he was thinking Bella might be able to pull a solution out of thin air.

"Sometimes I hope the same thing...but other times..." she trailed off, knowing Jasper would understand.

"You wish he would stay right where he was and realize he loves you back?" Jasper finished.

"Exactly."

"Just tell him Bella. Just tell him you care about him and love him. Lay your chips on the table and see what he says." Bella sighed. Of course Jasper would say that. That's what he had done with Alice, and it had worked for him. But Bella knew that Edward was too hung up on Tanya, and that he barely noticed her. She shut her eyes and stared across the room at the blank wall.

"I can't do that Jasper," Bella answered finally. "I just can't...be so vulnerable. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to yourself. You're the only one you're hurting," Jasper said and Bella shook her head.

"I'd better go. I'll talk to you tomorrow." They said their goodbyes and Bella hung up, turning her phone off. She couldn't deal with anyone just yet. She closed her eyes and let a restless sleep overcome her.

**A/N: Mostly a filler. More will happen tomorrow in scuola (that's the Italian version so if it's spelt wrong in Spanish then I don't care because it's not supposed to be Spanish) so REVIEW!! Thanks a million to my wonderful beta .miserable . fate. She's awesome :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

"Hey," Bella said as she slid into Edward's car a week after school had started. Bella wondered how long this routine would last. Edward had picked her up every day of the previous week and there he was, bright and early outside of her house on a particularly dreary looking Monday morning. Bella had been prepared to drive herself—thinking maybe Edward's chauffeuring services only lasted the first week—but she was pleasantly surprised to see Edward waiting for her as usual.

"Hey," Edward answered. Bella smiled when she noticed the bruise from James had completely faded, and all that was left were tired bags from lack of sleep under his eyes. She knew he had probably been up stressing about Tanya and Jasper, even if he didn't tell her. She could see the bags get progressively worse as the week passed, and it seemed like the weekend had really taken a toll on him.

"How are you?" Bella asked carefully. Edward shrugged, not meeting her eyes.

Truthfully, Edward wasn't well. School seemed to be getting worse for him, and he had to literally force himself to go. He could feel himself getting worse, sadder and angrier, but he had could think of nothing else to do but endure it. He watched every day as Jasper's life got progressively better and his stayed exactly the same. Of course he had Bella, and he had Angela and Ben, and he tried to remind himself of that fact. He had a loving family, he had friends. Just because he didn't have the woman he loved…

Edward sighed. He hated thinking about this, but it seemed like all he could think about. Tanya, Jasper, Alice, everyone. All of them. Mostly Tanya. Edward couldn't even remember the day his infatuation began, or the day his infatuation turned to more, to love. He didn't care. He could feel it in his heart when he looked at her. Love. Strong and true, he was sure of it. Edward had never been in love, not before Tanya. Of course he loved his mother and his father, and he loved Bella, but those were different. Family and friends. Not love, not true, romantic love, the way he had love for Tanya. It was different, he was sure.

Bella watched Edward as he drove, and he was too distracted to even notice. Normally, he would've teased her about it, or at least been annoyed at it. "See something you like?" he had once said. Bella had laughed, while thinking 'heck yes' in her mind. But Edward was so out of it today. Worse than usual. Bella knew the spare time of the weekend, all of that time to think, must have gotten to him. He looked…unhappy. Bella just wanted to hug him and make it all better. Like they used to do as children. Kiss the boo-boo, make it better. As simple as that. As if the touch of another's lips on your cut would make it heal, magically. Maybe it did. Maybe, just knowing someone cared enough to kiss you all better, really made the hurt go away.

"Edward, are you sure you're alright?" Bella asked tentatively. She didn't want to push his buttons, but she truly cared about how her friend was feeling. She didn't want him to be sad. Not ever.

"I'm just tired," Edward assured her, and Bella sighed, knowing he was lying. She just let it go for now, knowing better than to push him any further, not just yet. He would open up to her soon, she was sure of it. They didn't keep anything from each other. Aside from her secret love for him. But that didn't count.

They arrived at school a few minutes before the bell was due to ring, so Bella made her way to her locker. She was surprised to see someone already standing there, leaning against it. At first she was suspicious. Why would this person, of all the people in the school, be standing at her locker? Maybe it was just a mistake, and she didn't mean to be there. Bella decided to just act like she knew the girl wasn't really there to see her. Of course she wasn't.

"Excuse me," Bella said politely, trying to get to her locker. The petite brunette stood still and bit her lip.

"You used to be really close to Japer, right?" Alice asked. Bella blinked in surprise. Although Alice seemed like a nice person, Bella and her had never made much progress at becoming friends. They simply came from different worlds.

"Um…yeah," Bella answered awkwardly. Alice looked insecure, which was something Bella was so…shocked at. Alice normally looked so well put together and confident—nothing could affect her and she knew it. But right now, she looked like an actual human being. Bella felt a rush of affection for the girl, like they had been best friends for years instead of barely acquaintances. "Why?"

"Listen, he thinks I don't know who he is…but I do," she whispered in a rush, taking a step closer to Bella. "I know he used to be your best friend, and that other kid, Edward's. We worked together on a project last year and he was so funny and sweet…but everyone made fun of me so much and I was stupid, so I didn't do anything about my...my feelings towards him. Which was absolutely retarded. And then this year he comes back and he's gorgeous and he comes right up to me, _me_, and starts talking to me, and I'm so happy I could sing. My friends don't remember him, but I do, and I'm so happy that I'm brave enough to finally _be_ with him." Her words were quick and rushed and blended together in one long sentence. Bella was baffled.

"Wow," Bella finally managed. She assumed Alice thought Jasper was new or something, and she thought she never liked him last year, after they worked on that project together. But she did. She was just like Jasper. Hiding her feelings. "That's…wow."

"I know. But he's been so sad lately and I just want to do something to make him happy, but I don't know what he's sad about," she continued and she was biting her lip again, looking sad. "I only just got him back and I don't want to lose him. Do you have any idea what I can do? I know you probably think I'm a huge bitch and that I'm stuck up and all this other stuff, but I'm not like my friends. I promise. I just want what's best for Jasper." Alice took a deep breath and stared at Bella with pleading eyes. Bella was sure her jaw had hit the floor.

"I don't think you're a bitch," Bella said without thinking. But it was true. Alice had never teased her, unlike Tanya and Victoria and Rosalie. Alice was always the polite one, the bystander. She didn't do anything to Bella, but she didn't try and stop it either. Although Bella could understand that in the hierarchy of high school, she was at the bottom and Alice was near the top. If Alice wanted to keep her power, she couldn't be seen as weak. High school was like a hunting lioness. Look for the weakest link and take it down. Alice gave Bella a grateful smile.

"You're really a nice girl Bella. I don't know why Tanya needs to be such a bitch all the time." Alice and Bella shared a knowing smile, and in that moment, Bella knew that popularity wasn't all it cracked up to be. Alice didn't look happy with her friend—in fact, she seemed miserable at the thought of her so-called friends, said her name with a tone of spite, the way a servant does the name of his master.

"Listen, all I can say right now is just be there for Jasper. I know he really likes you. He's probably just upset because he lost his friendship with Edward." Bella didn't want to go into the details of Edward's desire to be popular, not with Alice. It wasn't her secret to tell, and she didn't want to make Alice feel obligated to help or anything. "Jasper's a really good person, and I'm sure he'll feel better soon. Just be there for him."

"I just don't want to lose him," Alice whispered softly, staring down at her feet, weakness pouring from her stance. If Bella were mean, she could have easily taken advantage of Alice's momentary weakness—she had dropped her walls and Bella could easily attack—but she wasn't like that, and she wasn't going to hurt Alice in her moment of vulnerability.

"Alice, I know he cares about you, and I can tell you care about him," Bella said, wanting to comfort the small girl standing beside her. Bella reached out and took her hand, squeezing it comfortingly, the way best friends do. And Bella felt they could be best friends, in another world, another life. But she knew that Alice would go back to Tanya and Bella would go back to Edward, and everything would play out like how it was supposed to. "Everything will work out. It always does."

"Thanks Bella." And her voice was truly grateful. "I'm really glad I talked to you. I knew I could trust you. More than my other friends." She sighed, but smiled anyways. Bella felt pity for her.

"Anytime Alice," Bella promised with a smile. Alice quickly reached up and hugged Bella, and Bella, frozen with surprise, just stood there. Alice released her quickly, smiling still.

"Thanks Bella. See you later." She walked away, almost skipping, and Bella was glad to make her feel better. The final bell rang and Bella had to rush to her first period class, since her talk with Alice had taken up the time she would normally spend at her locker. Bella hurried to the first period English class she shared with Edward. The teacher gave her a stern look as Bella made her way to the back of the room, sinking in her chair next to Edward. He was staring straight ahead, at the teacher, and didn't make eye contact. Bella stared at him in confusion. He had been friendly enough this morning. Had something happened?

Edward was out of his seat the moment the bell rang, signaling the end of first period, leaving Bella behind him, hurriedly shoving her books into her bag. She stared after him, eyebrows furrowed, feeling hurt. Why was he avoiding her? She made her way to Spanish alone, fighting back tears. Edward was already seated and staring forward, his chair angled away from the seat Bella always sat in. Bella sat slowly, carefully watching Edward. His eyes were tight, drawn, and his jaw was set angrily. Bella couldn't understand what she did wrong.

Again, Edward left as quickly as physically possible, almost out of the seat before the bell rang. Even though Bella had packed away her things as quickly as possible, she was still nowhere near as fast as him. She was grateful to have the next period away from him. She was confused and hurt, and she felt like she was going to cry. She even felt angry. Why was he mad at her? What had she done?

Bella didn't even bother getting her hopes up, and she was right not to. Edward didn't meet her eyes in history either. He just sat, his back ramrod straight, in the chair next to her, ignoring her existence as easily as the other students did. Bella bit her lip and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes to keep the tears from falling. She hated this. She hated _him_ for making her feel like this. She hated the way she loved him, and the way he didn't love her back. She hated herself for being so weak.

"Edward," Bella called at the end of the class, but Edward was already breezing through the door, quicker than even the teacher. Bella made her way to lunch alone, chin quivering. She stopped at her locker to grab the sandwich she had packed, although she didn't feel much like eating. She could feel a few tears slide down her cheeks as she did and she wiped them away quickly.

"Bella?" Although the voice was welcome, it wasn't the one she desperately wanted to hear. Bella turned to face Alice, plastering a fake smile on her face and trying to act like she hadn't been crying. "Bella, what's wrong?" Alice asked, concern clear in her voice.

"Nothing," Bella lied, but her voice broke, giving her away. Alice rushed over and wrapped her arms around Bella's shoulders, looking confused and worried.

"What's wrong?" Alice repeated.

"Edward," Bella choked, feeling a surge of anger as she said his name. Why did she have to love him? Why didn't he love her? She wanted to scream.

"What happened? Is he hurt?" Bella shook her head. "Did you two fight? What happened?"

"I don't know, that's the problem," Bella said quickly, wiping away a few more furious tears. "We were fine when he drove me to school this morning. And then I get to first period and he avoids me like the plague! I can't figure out what the hell happened!" Bella took a deep breath, hearing how her voice went slightly hysterical at the end. She could be strong, she just had to try. She took a deep breath in and held it for ten seconds, letting it out in a slow breath through her teeth, eyes shut tight. When she opened her eyes again, she was feeling a bit better.

"He just started ignoring you? Just like that?" Alice asked, sounding as confused as Bella felt. Bella nodded. "That's so weird. Can you think of anything that might have caused this?" Bella thought back, trying to remember what she had done that morning in the car. Maybe she had annoyed him by asking how he was feeling too many times. Or maybe it was something that didn't have to do with her. Maybe James or Emmett had tormented him again.

"I don't know. Did your friends say anything about…you know…" Bella felt uncomfortable talking about Alice's friends' bullying tendencies, and by the look on Alice's face, Bella knew she felt uncomfortable as well. Bella could tell Alice disapproved of their bullying.

"No, not that I've heard." Bella knew she was telling the truth. And she also knew if James had caught up to him again, he would certainly be boasting about it. So it must have been her then. The thought didn't make her feel any better. "I'm sorry Bella. I don't know what to say."

"It's okay," Bella sighed. She pulled herself out of Alice's arms. "I'll just talk to him at lunch. I'll be fine. I can fix this." She was trying to convince herself as much as Alice. Alice just sighed and nodded.

"I'm here if you need me," she promised.

"Thanks Alice." Bella hugged her new friend, and she knew she could call Alice that now. A friend. Although they probably wouldn't hang out outside of school, and Alice probably wouldn't even acknowledge Bella when she passed with her friends, but that's just how high school worked. They would be friends, but they wouldn't be publically friends. Bella sighed—she couldn't wait to be done with high school and all of its stupid little dramas.

Alice and Bella went their separate ways, back to their separate worlds. Bella walked into the cafeteria and to her friends at the table by the trash barrel, all the way in the corner. Alice joined her group in the center of the room, everyone laughing and chatting. Alice joined Jasper off to one side and he took her hand and kissed it before pulling her down next to him. Bella sighed again when she realized Edward wasn't at her table. Only Angela and Ben. She would have to play third wheel. She didn't mind, but she wanted to see Edward and ask him what was wrong.

The three chatted idly during lunch, none of them mentioning Edward's peculiar absence from their table. Bella knew he wasn't sitting anywhere else in the room (having scanned it thoroughly, twice) so she knew he was just avoiding her again. Ben and Angela seemed to realize Bella didn't want to talk about it. They followed her lead and didn't mention it. Again, Bella made her way to class alone. Gym, her most dreaded subject and last class with Edward.

Gym was awful. Edward had already joined another boy, someone she recognized from the science club, by the time she changed, and she had to join up with another boy who looked like he had a pretty severe cold, and Bella knew why everyone else was avoiding him. His eyes were rimmed red, little drops of liquid were falling constantly from his nose, and it seemed he had taken to wiping them on his sleeve. He kept coughing into his hand and then touching the equipment. It made Bella sick. She stood in the back of the court and didn't participate. She watched Alice and Jasper as they played, working perfectly in tandem, reading each other's moves perfectly. They were unbeatable.

The boy held his hand up for a high five at the end of the class, and Bella, not wanting to be rude, slapped his hand. She washed her hands thoroughly in the bathroom of the locker room, but she knew if she got sick, she'd be pissed at Edward. Alice and Jasper were waiting for Bella outside of the locker rooms, ready to go to creative writing. Bella was surprised—she had assumed they wouldn't want to be walking with her, seeing how it could tarnish their reputation. But Alice held her head high as Bella stared at her shoes.

The three of them sat down in their usual chairs, all in a row, Jasper in the center. Alice made an extra effort to include Bella in their conversation, asking questions and keeping the topics strictly off of their group of friends. Bella was grateful for the distraction.

"How's everything with Edward?" Alice asked in a rush, when Jasper stood to sharpen his pencil.

"Worse. I'm cornering him after school. I mean, I don't have a ride home if he doesn't take me, so I'm not letting him leave without an explanation," Bella whispered back quickly. Alice raised her eyebrows, but didn't comment as Jasper came back and sank down into his seat, pencil tip sharp and pointy.

Bella did just as she said she would. She didn't even stop at her locker after school, instead just running to the parking lot. Luckily, Edward's car was still parked in the parking lot, so she stood by the passenger seat and waited. Edward would have no choice but to talk to her. It's not like he would walk home in the rain. His parents would kill him if he left the car at school anyways. Edward took his time, but eventually he did come.

He glanced at her and unlocked the car wordlessly. "Get in," he commanded, and Bella was too frightened to refuse. She just opened the door and slipped inside, shaking out her now wet hair. Edward sped out of the parking lot and Bella clutched to the seat as they drove, feeling terrified. Edward was outside of her house sooner than she would have thought possible. He waited in silence for her to get out. But as Bella regained feeling in her legs, she regained her confidence as well. They needed to talk.

"What is with you today?" she demanded. Edward sighed. He had seen this coming, he knew it was inevitable—but he still wasn't ready.

"I can deal with Jasper. At least he had a reason. He loves Alice. He did what he had to do, and he was lucky enough to have it work for him. But I can't deal with this." His voice was hard and cold, and it sounded like he had rehearsed what he was going to say. Bella stared at him, in shock.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded after a moment. She was more confused than ever after this statement.

"I'm talking about you and Alice. Jasper ditched us to be popular. And now you are too? You're always telling me it's not worth it Bella. Always. What was that all just a lie so you could convince yourself?"

"Me and Alice," Bella repeated as his words sunk in. She realized he must have seen them this morning, when Alice had asked for help with Jasper. Maybe he had seen them before lunch, or even after gym. Whenever it was, it didn't matter. Edward had no right, _no right_, to accuse her of this. Or to even be angry at her. It was ridiculous.

"So, now that Jasper's popular, you have to do it too?" Edward snapped, taking advantage of Bella's momentary speechlessness, which he had taken for a guilty silence. "I'm not good enough for you? You have to steal my dream too?"

"How dare you?" Bella hissed when words finally came to her. "Do you even hear yourself right now?" Edward stayed silent. Bella was fuming. She thought steam was about to pour from her ears. "Yelling at me for talking to Alice. Just because she's popular. She was asking me for help with Jasper. She knew we used to be friends. That's all. And yeah, I like Alice, she's nice, and we're friends. But so what? That doesn't mean I'm about to ditch you for her and those bitches. Why would I want to do that? They've never been anything but mean to me. Personally, I don't find being a bitch or asshole good qualities in a person." Bella had never been this furious at Edward before. She had always understood him, empathized with him. But not now. This was too much.

"I have stood by you for so long. I've helped you do everything you want to do. I listened to you when you were angry or upset, I even listened to you gush about how much you freaking love Tanya! About how much your life sucks and how you don't have anything! And you never realized that you had everything you needed, right in front of you! Right here!" Tears were falling freely down her face now, and she didn't even try to wipe them away. She didn't care. Let him see her insecurities, her weaknesses. What did it matter now? "Do you honestly think I would just drop you for popularity?" Bella looked in his eyes and realized he did think this. Because he would do it himself. "I can't believe you. Do I mean anything to you? Anything at all?" Bella saw the answer in his eyes. She didn't want to hear his words. She couldn't.

"Whatever," she said, shaking her head. More tears were forming in her eyes, and she wanted to punch something. "I'm done. I'm sick of this. I don't even know you, and frankly, I don't want to anymore. Call me when you realize who your true friends are." She got out of the car, ignoring him when he called after her, and stormed inside, dead bolting the door behind her, just in case. But it was pointless. He didn't come after her. He never would.

**A/N: Okay, I know Edward seems like the worlds biggest asshole right now, and he kind of is. But next chapter you'll see his thoughts on this, and that's where the magic begins, with the whole wishing on a star thing. Thanks once again to my fabulous beta .miserable . fate. for making sure I didn't call any hes shes haha. And I'm going to advertise myself a bit--please go check out my blog! Just go to my profile and click homepage. Leave a comment and I will love you forever. REVIEW!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

Edward stared in mute horror as Bella ran into her house, slamming and locking the door behind her. He had heard the pain, clear in her voice, had seen her tears, and had been unable to do anything. He couldn't even deny what she was saying—because she was right. He was a horrible, terrible person, a hideous friend, and he hated himself for hurting her. Hated himself for never being good enough—not for Bella or Jasper or Tanya or anyone. Edward wanted to break down the door, wrap his arms around Bella and apologize, tell her she was wrong and that he would never hurt her or betray her, never. But he couldn't. Not with honesty. And he hated himself for being so weak.

Edward pulled away from Bella's house, staring wistfully at the door, wishing he was strong enough, good enough to be her friend, to be able to comfort her. But then again, he wished he hadn't hurt her in the first place. He had jumped to conclusions. He had seen Bella with Alice, and it was like losing Jasper all over again, only a hundred times harder, because Bella was so much more important to him.

Edward drove at top speed back to his house, slamming the car door behind him and storming straight up to his bedroom, completely ignoring his mother's kind greetings. He slammed his bedroom door shut behind him and locked it, making it clear that he didn't want to be disturbed. Edward fell face down onto his bed and he could feel tears prickling at his eyes. He hated himself even more—he had hurt Bella, he wasn't strong enough to apologize, and now he was crying like a child.

Edward hated himself, he loathed himself. He hated his life and everything about it, and he hated that Bella was so right about him. He hated how he wasn't able to be good enough for her, and how he would never be good enough for anyone else. He hated how he didn't seem to fit in with anyone, anywhere. He hated how alone and weak he felt.

Edward shoved himself off of his bed and wiped his tears away furiously. He pulled his books out of his backpack and started on his homework, hoping something as monotonous and mind-numbing as homework would keep his mind off of things he didn't want to think about. Edward worked until late into the night, trying to finish the homework he had been neglecting over the past few days. It was ten past eleven when he crawled into bed, staring out of the window right near his desk.

Edward wasn't really paying attention as he stared, but something caught his eye—something moving. With a streak of light and color, a shooting star made its way across the sky at rapid speed. Edward shot up and ran to the window, tossing it open and leaning out to get a better look. He knew it was probably just a meteor, or a trick of the light, but he was feeling desperate enough that he was willing to try anything. He kept his eyes glued to the shooting star and began speaking, just as the digital clock on his nightstand read 11:11.

"I wish that I was popular. I wish that Tanya wanted me, and that I wasn't hurting Bella. I just wish everything could be easy for me, for Jasper, for Bella. I wish that I had been born popular," Edward wished wistfully, knowing that wishing was useless and futile, but he couldn't help but hope. He let his eyes slide shut as he repeated his wish, once, twice, three times. When he opened his eyes again, the star was gone. He sighed, and turned back around, ready to fall into his bed and finally get some sleep. There was just one problem.

There was already someone sitting in it.

Edward let out a gasp of surprise, clutching a hand to his heart as he took a few rushed steps backwards and hit the wall, breathing heavily from the shock. The woman was small, childlike almost, with short brown hair and bright brown eyes. She had a smile on her lips and was twisting what looked like a stick between her fingers. She had on a simple sundress, despite the cold temperature of Forks. She wasn't looking at Edward—she was staring at the thing in her hands, the small, cylindrical piece of wood she continued to twirl in her fingers.

"Who are you?" Edward demanded instantly. The woman—or should he say girl?—didn't answer. She showed no sign of even hearing Edward, other than the slight twitch of her mouth—the corners lifted ever so slightly, into a mocking smirk. "How did you get in here? Why are you in here? What is that in your hands?"

"Who are you?" the woman mocked, letting out a trill of laughter. "Who am I? That's a very good question." Edward waited for her to clarify, but she didn't. She continued to twirl the stick in her fingers with the utmost tenderness, caressing it almost. Edward was too stunned to speak. He briefly wondered if he should call his parents, or the police. The girl laughed as if she could hear his thoughts.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Edward," she whispered. Edward shivered, wondering how this woman knew his name. Her voice was gentle, but there was an undertone of malice that made Edward's skin prickle with goose bumps. "No, I'm not a bad person. The opposite actually. I am the most powerful creature you will ever meet. I can make your wildest dreams come true—I alone hold the power, the fate of all human kind, right here in my hands." She gestured to the stick in her hands, her tone loving, as if it was her child, or a beloved pet.

"What is that?" Edward asked, without consciously deciding to do so. The woman continued to stare down at it—Edward noticed how long her fingers were as she twirled it, back and forth, back and forth. Edward thought she might not have heard him when she didn't answer, and opened his mouth to repeat the question. But he was silenced instantly when the woman held up one hand.

"This, my dear boy, is the key to your future. Your kind would call it a wand I suppose. This is more powerful than God's own hand. It is more powerful than any other instrument on the planet. But only for those who are deemed worthy enough to use it, or to have it used for them." She looked up for the first time, slowly, her eyes locking with Edward's. He was frozen, eyes wide. He felt a thrill of fear as he stared at her—she was beautiful, delicate, but Edward could sense that she was dangerous. "Why are you worthy? Why are you, a mere mortal boy, worthy of my magic, of my powers?"

"I…I don't know," Edward whispered, feeling frightened.

"Nor do I. You see, when I help people, it's a rare few. Rare, rare, rare. And these people—they are the most powerful of your kind. The ones with the kind of determination that can rule the world. I was there when every dictator was born, when every country and land was conquered, that was me. I gave those men that power, the power to rule the world. And yet, that's not even what you want." She stared up at Edward quizzically. "You only want to be accepted. Liked. But I suppose that other human's hold some sort of power over you? Maybe I'm wrong—maybe people themselves are the world's most dangerous weapons." She laughed and shook her head.

"So," she said conversationally. She sat up, her legs dangling off of Edward's bed as he continued to press himself up against the opposite wall. "You wish to be popular, hmm? To have been born with the natural good looks and easy going confidence that some of your kind seem to be blessed with? And you wish to be loved. Is that right?" Edward nodded, too afraid to speak.

"Well, I can help you with the first part of your problem. I can make you attractive to your kind, both your personality and your looks. I can make you friends with the people you desire. Lust and admiration, they are easy to manipulate. But as for the girl…I'm afraid there's nothing I can do," she said, and she sounded annoyed. "True love is something that can't be imitated. It's a powerful magic, some say the most powerful magic of all. But I don't believe it. I can't imitate it, but I can crush it, and I think that makes me more powerful than love, don't you think?" She stared up at Edward and batted her eyelashes. Edward was afraid. This woman was either crazy or he was, and she looked at everything the way a dictator did—what can she conquer, what can she destroy?

"So…you can make me popular? You can make me liked by the other kids? Like I was born that way?" Edward verified and he felt hope. If he had been born popular, maybe Bella's life would be better without him in it.

"Yes I can. I can make you the most well liked person on this planet. Everyone will feel a…natural attraction towards you. They'll be attracted to your looks and your laugh and the aura around you that says you're a natural born leader," she said. "I'll be turning you from an ugly servant into a handsome prince. From an alleyway mutt to a purebred. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He did. He was shivering slightly from the thrill of it all, from the fear he felt of this tiny woman-child. "So I'm like a male Cinderella?" Edward asked sarcastically. The woman smiled wickedly.

"Exactly. Only your wish doesn't end at midnight. It's permanent. So I suggest you think it through first." Edward didn't hesitate.

"I want it." The woman let out a short, maniacal sounding laugh.

"Oh dear, the way you humans work is so predictable. Just wanting to be liked and loved." She laughed again, shaking her head. "No wonder so many of you believe lust is love. You're so eager to fall in love, to have someone love you that you decide to love just so you won't have to be alone. It's pathetic really." She laughed again.

"Are…are you going to grant my wish?" Edward asked timidly.

"Don't worry, child," she said, and Edward felt it was rather annoying of her to call him a child, when she looked no older than he did. "Your wish has been granted. Tomorrow morning you'll wake up and you'll be popular. You'll be better looking, more likeable. But I must warn you…there will be consequences. Every action in our lives affects every other person around us. This leads to this leads to this. You're changing a lifetime of choices by making this wish. Many things will be different. Every person whose life you changed, who you affected, will be completely different. Every choice that they made that was affected by you will be different. A lot of things will change. And you're going to have to live with that."

"I…I don't think I affected anyone that much," Edward whispered, thinking of Bella, Jasper, Angela, Ben, his parents. How would their lives change? He couldn't have had that much of an effect on them, right? Sure, he had been best friends with Bella since they were kids, but she was always so strong and brave. She made her own decisions, she didn't listen to him. Maybe she would change for the better without him around. It seemed likely.

"Well I suppose you'll have to wait and see, won't you?" the woman said with a large, evil grin. "You might be surprised by what you see."

"Anything will be better than this," Edward said without thinking. The woman snorted a laugh.

"Sure. Because you're life is so miserable. Parents who love you, a best friend who's in love with you, a family with money, despite the hard economic times, a one way ticket to an Ivy League school. I can understand why you must hate your life," the woman said sarcastically, mocking him. Edward clenched his fists. He just wanted her to leave already. She had helped him, and he was grateful, but he didn't want to be made fun of.

"Don't worry, boy, I'll leave," she said, as if she could read his thoughts again. He shivered. "Just remember—every choice you make affects everyone else, whether you know it or not. I won't be around to help you figure things out, so just remember, if you see something different, something you like…or maybe don't like…remember it's all your doing." She flashed a wide smile and Edward glared at her. Sure, she may be helping him out, but she was being awfully mean to him, something completely unnecessary.

"I'll keep that in mind," Edward said, and she laughed, shook her head, and stood. She approached him slowly, cautiously, and Edward froze in fear. Her eyes were watching him inquisitively, and Edward couldn't look away. He tried very hard not to blink.

"Strong," she murmured thoughtfully to herself. "Very strong. But strong enough? I suppose we'll have to wait and see." She laughed, a soft, twinkling laugh that sent shivers through Edward's spine.

"Lie down," the woman commanded suddenly and Edward blinked in surprise, jumping at the sound of her voice. She bit her lip to fight a laugh, but her laughter turned into a scowl when she realized he wasn't following her directions. "Are you listening? Lie down!" Edward half ran in his haste to listen. He lay on his bed, flat on his back, and stared up at the plain white ceiling. He took deep, even breaths.

"Close your eyes," the woman said in a seductive, soothing tone. Edward did as she asked without hesitation. He felt nervous with his eyes shut, but his other senses heightened. He could hear the soft patter of her dainty footsteps as she made her way towards him. He could nearly feel her presence as she hovered over him. He didn't dare open his eyes. Nerves, apprehension and excitement bubbled in his stomach. He briefly considered calling the whole thing off, but when he thought of Tanya, of the crushed look on Bella's face when he had left her this afternoon, and of the complete joy and happiness he always saw on Jasper's face, he stayed firm with his wish.

"Listen to my voice. Only the sound of my voice." Her voice was impossible not to listen to. A seductive purr, making Edward's skin tingle and shivers roll down his spine in waves. "Empty your mind. Clear it of all thoughts, only leaving those of exactly what you want, and only what you want. Listen to my voice, and think, think, and sleep. Sleep, my child, for in the morning, all of your dreams and nightmares will come true." The lullaby of her voice was impossible to resist. Edward felt sleepy even though moments before he had been as wide awake as possible. He didn't have the energy to fear her words, even though common sense told him he should. He just filled his head with thoughts of Tanya, of popularity, and of a happier life.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. My Microsoft Word stopped working, my internet was screwy, my dad's been in the hospital with stroke like symptoms and a seizure. Basically life's been busy and kind of sucky. Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

Edward woke up the next morning, sure that the previous night had been a dream. Because things like that—magic, wishing and fairy godmothers—they just don't exist in real life. And if they did, they wouldn't go to someone like him. It couldn't be real. He just was up too late, upset about his argument with Bella, and had a weird as hell dream. That's all. He rubbed his eyes groggily and reached for his glasses. He put them on and opened his eyes, but his vision was blurry. He sighed, thinking he would need a newer, stronger prescription for his eyes. At this rate he'd be blind by thirty

He left them on his eyes as he made his way to the bathroom, but after bumping into his dresser and the bathroom door, he just had to take them off. His vision couldn't get much worse than this. He stood in front of the mirror and pulled off his stupid, useless glasses, half slamming them onto the counter. He blinked in surprise a few times. His vision seemed…perfect. He could see the granite countertops clear as day.

Edward looked up at the mirror and it took everything in his power not to scream.

That reflection was not his. That man was not him. It couldn't be.

Edward reached out a quivering hand, and the man in the mirror copied him exactly. He reached forward, expecting to touch someone else's bare skin—but instead all he could feel was the cool glass of the mirror. He jumped back in shock, and was surprised at how high he jumped and how easy it was. He felt—good. There was no other word to describe it. He stepped slowly back to the mirror and reached his hand up to touch his face. The mirror man copied exactly.

Edward had to accept that it was him. It was hard to wrap his mind around the fact that the person in the mirror was actually him. The man in the mirror—why his skin was tan, nothing like the paleness Edward normally had. There was no acne or blemishes on his face, just a bit of morning stubble—Edward couldn't even grow stubble before. The nose didn't have the noticeable bump that he used to have from it having been hit multiple times over the years. The hair was shiny, smooth and silky, a bright reddish-brown, unlike the normally greasy, unmanageable hair it used to be. Edward was in shock. This man was handsome. A word no one ever associated with Edward Masen.

"Hello," he whispered, and he realized his voice was just a touch deeper, a bit raspy from sleep. He cleared his throat. "Hello," he said, a bit louder, and he sounded confident and strong. Edward beamed and he noticed his teeth were whiter, straighter, but he still had his crooked smile, only it looked right with his new and improved teeth. Edward shook his head in disbelief. It couldn't be real—he had to be dreaming still.

Edward eagerly stripped off his clothes and jumped into the shower. Even his body was different. What used to be scrawny was now lean and fit. He could feel the athleticism in his body. When he squeezed the shampoo bottle, more came out than he was used to, and he realized it was because he was stronger—much stronger. Edward marveled at his newly formed muscles. A hint of a six back, and he could practically sell tickets to his gun show. Edward was feeling great as he jumped out of the shower and dried himself off, slinging a towel easily around his hips.

When he entered his bedroom, he realized it was different. The walls were still covered in shelving and music, but there were CDs and songs he had never heard of. Popular music, he realized. And his posters of his favorite novels and sci-fi movies were gone. He opened his closet and saw clothes that did not belong to him. He read the tags and noticed they were all a size bigger than he used to take (due to his new muscle mass) and were clearly designer. He pulled on a pair of jeans that fit well and hung low, and a long sleeved navy blue and white Rugby shirt.

He grabbed his backpack—the same backpack as before, only it felt considerably lighter—and hurried downstairs, eager for breakfast. His house looked pretty much the same he noticed. As he was passing through the living room he froze, staring at the picture frames. He saw pictures of himself—only it wasn't him. There was a picture of him and Mike Newton, tossing a football around. A picture of him as a child standing with a famous basketball player. A group of young boys gathered around a picnic table, Edward holding a balloon, at what was clearly a birthday party. A picture of him, his arm around Tanya (he felt a thrill up his spine when he saw this picture) both in formal wear, probably going to junior prom. He couldn't believe it. Everything had changed. He had a past that he couldn't remember.

"Edward, are you going to eat? Come on, you've got a big night tonight!" he recognized his mother's voice and hurried into the kitchen, where a feast was laid out for him. Edward's mouth watered at the sight of it.

"What's my big night?" he asked curiously, making himself a plate. He found he was hungrier than usual, and ate seconds of everything. Elizabeth Masen rolled her eyes.

"James' birthday party is tonight, remember? James you best friend for the last seventeen years or so. You couldn't have forgotten," she sighed. "Gosh Edward, sometimes I think I need to tape reminders to your forehead."

"Sorry, Mom," Edward said sheepishly. But then her words caught up with him. His best friend James? As in the James that just recently punched him in the face? But what happened to Jaspe Edward had assumed that since they would both be popular, they would naturally be best friends, just like before. What had happened to make James his best friend instead? "Speaking of which, do you happen to know where I left his present?" Edward didn't even know if he got James a present, but he assumed he must have.

"Doesn't Mike have it? You two chipped in to get him something, right?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Edward agreed, making a mental note to ask Mike about it later. "Sorry I'm just tired this morning. You know."

"Of course dear. Now go to school and be safe please."

"Bye!" Edward jumped off his chair and walked outside. And he stopped in his tracks when he saw what was parked in the driveway.

It was the car of his dreams. Literally. The S60R that was the king of all cars, at least in Edward's mind.

"You forgot your keys dear," Elizabeth called, tossing a pair of keys to him. Edward held up a hand and caught it without trouble. He stared at the keys, encased in his fist, and was glad to see his hand eye coordination had improved greatly as well. Edward noticed the bright keychain that said Volvo on it, and was elated to see the car was his. He half ran to it and tossed himself in the driver's side, eager to test out the speed and power of his new vehicle.

It was just like he imagined it and more. It was…insane. Exhilarating. Thrilling. He rolled the windows down and let the cold air blow around his face, swirling his hair—which was also a teensy bit longer he noticed—around his face. He was grinning, and for a moment, he felt like one of those models in a car commercial, the kind that always seem so happy. That was him, and it was amazing.

He pulled up in the school parking lot, just on time, and noticed a parking spot between a shiny red convertible and a massive jeep. He parked in between them and climbed out, the wind blowing at the perfect moment, his hair swirling a bit, just as all eyes turned towards him. Edward felt suddenly nervous. What if it had been a dream? What if the eyes that were turning towards him were only glaring, wondering who this freak was who thought he was so cool? But then he heard voices—happy voices. Voices happy to see him.

"Edward man!" someone called and Edward turned to see Tyler Crowley, a boy who he hadn't spoken to since second grade, waving and grinning. "What's good man?" And Edward knew just what to say back, without hesitation.

"Not much, kid," he said coolly.

"Edward! Excited for tonight?" Mike Newton called as Edward began his casual walk towards class.

"You know it," Edward answered.

"Hey man," another, more familiar voice came. Edward whirled around to see James standing with an arm around Victoria and wearing a smirk. "You're stupid ass better have gotten me good shit for tonight. We're counting on you to provide the drinks." He winked.

"I've already got it covered," Edward said, somehow knowing he was telling the truth. Edward was a little angry at himself—how come he had to provide the alcohol?—but he knew that it was part of being popular. Doing things that may or may not be exactly legal.

"You better," James said, punching him a little roughly in the arm, but it was meant in a playful way. The old, scrawny Edward probably would've gotten a bruise. The new and improved Edward merely shook it off. It didn't even hurt, not really. Edward continued his walk to class, saying hi to various classmates who used to barely acknowledge his presence, unless they were insulting him. He greeted everyone calmly and coolly.

When he entered first period, Edward felt on top of the world. People liked him—hell they _loved_ him. His life was perfection. This is exactly what Edward was missing every time he stared longingly across the cafeteria at the popular crowd. The acceptance, the admiration, even the adoration that some girls seemed to treat him with. Girls who used to sneer at him when he passed in the hallway, then giggle about it after.

Edward walked straight to the empty seat in the center of the classroom, which seemed to be reserved for him. Girls scooted their desks a little closer and guys all grinned and clapped hands with him. Edward was on a high. He was surprised when he recognized the small girl in the seat in front of him. He tapped her shoulder—after all they were both popular now, right? "Hey Alice," he said, and the room around him froze. The girl stiffened, before turning to stare at him with enraged eyes. Edward nearly cowered. Her gaze was fierce with hatred and disgust.

"Fuck off," she spat, before whirling back around in her seat, back rigid, and staring straight forward. There was a general murmur of dislike towards Alice, and sympathy and compassion towards Edward, while Edward just stared blankly at the pissed off girl in front of him. He took in the rest of her as the teacher entered the classroom. She was wearing sweatpants, which was so unlike the old Alice. Her sweatshirt was too big to belong to her, and Edward recognized it as something the old Jasper might wear. Her hair was cropped short, but it wasn't as well kept as she used to keep it. What was wrong with Alice?

Edward contemplated for the rest of the class what could've happened in his transition from unpopular to popular to make Alice like this. Bitter and angry and unkempt. Was it his fault? It had to be—why else would Alice have changed so drastically? But Edward couldn't understand what he could've had to do with this. How could it be his fault that Alice wasn't her usual peppy, bouncy and happy self? It couldn't be. Maybe she was just in a bad mood. And happened to hate him…

"You with us man?" someone called to the laughter of others.

"Yeah, sorry," Edward grumbled in response. He pushed Alice from his mind, deciding to revisit the subject when he wasn't surrounded by worshipping classmates.

The second period bell rang quickly and Edward stood, as did the people around him. Edward was pretty shocked when they walked with him to his third period class, chattering and laughing and making crude jokes. Edward was in the center of the makeshift circle, and he saw the envious stares of his classmates as they swaggered down the halls. Edward entered his second period class.

His seat was in the back, towards the middle, and he was once again surrounded by friends and admirers. It was crazy to him that these people, who had hated him previously, were now practically worshipping him. When the bell rang he was encircled by his friends and escorted to third period, which was much the same as his first and second classes. It was repetitive, but Edward still loved the thrill of being surrounded by so many people who genuinely liked him.

When Edward arrived at lunch, escorted by James and Mike Newton, he saw the popular table, front and center, as usual. Only this time he didn't pass by, head down, into the small corner in the back. He walked, chin up and a grin on his face, straight to the center table. His seat was right in the middle. Emmett and Rosalie were across from him, completely wrapped up in each other. James was seated to his left, smirking smugly with Victoria on his lap. And to his right was an empty seat that seemed to be saved for someone.

"Hey James, ready for tonight?" Emmett asked, peeling his lips away from Rosalie's for a brief moment. James grinned cockily.

"You know it. Tonight's gonna be the shit! Only hot chicks allowed though, right babe?" Victoria giggled, tossing her flaming red hair over her shoulder.

"Right, sexy," she purred and Edward rolled his eyes as the two began attacking each others' lips. Edward found his eyes wandering towards his old table, farthest from the table he currently sat at, and mostly hidden from the rest of the cafeteria. He recognized Angela and Ben, holding hands, and was glad to see their lives didn't seem to change because of him. And, although he couldn't see their faces, he recognized Jasper, Bella and, surprisingly, Alice sitting with their backs to him. Bella was in the middle of Alice and Jasper, who seemed to be staring in opposite directions.

"Hey Edward," a seductive voice called, and Edward whirled his head around, his heart rising, to see Tanya making her way towards him, a cute little smile on her face. Edward let a lazy grin spread across his cheeks, trying not to seem too eager, because he somehow knew that was not how he should act. Tanya reached a hand out and he automatically reached forward to lace his fingers through hers. She sank into the seat next to him and cuddled up. Edward was in heaven on earth.

"Hey Tanya," he said, pulling her a tiny bit closer.

"I missed you this morning," she said, flashing him another dazzling grin. Edward nearly melted.

"I missed you too," he answered, and the answer was truthful. Although he hadn't realized it, he most certainly had missed Tanya today. Almost a dull ache in his chest that dissipated at the sight of her. She scooted closer to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Edward could see movement at the table he used to sit at. He was surprised to see Bella stand up, glaring forward the whole way, and storm into the hall. He wondered what could possibly be wrong with her. But at that same moment, Tanya moved forward and pressed her soft, warm lips to his, and all thoughts of Bella's rage were forgotten.

Edward was in bliss for the rest of the school day. Tanya and him walked, hands laced to gym, Tanya cooing in his ear the whole time as he practically tingled. Edward barely noticed Alice, Jasper and Bella, standing together, glaring at him from across the gym. He was with the love of his life and that was all that mattered to him at the moment. They changed into their uniforms and Edward found he was much better at the sports he used to fail at. It was encouraging, and he showed off a little bit, just for Tanya. She giggled and cheered.

When Edward left for his final class, he was surprised to find his feet leading him towards the English wing. He knew instinctively that he had creative writing instead of his previous advanced class. He didn't mind. He took his seat near the back, and was unhappy to see that most of his new friends weren't in the class. Bella, Jasper and Alice all came in and were seated next to him. Bella was closest to him, but she angled her desk away from him, and something about her posture made Edward think she was uncomfortable.

"Okay, class," the teacher announced cheerfully as he entered the classroom. "We're going to have a term long assignment. Basically, I'll pair you up, and you have to work with this person to take an idea from something else in your life—whether it be a personal experience or a book or movie—and change it, so it keeps the basic themes, ideas and characters. The characters should be similar to how they are in the book, movie, whatever, but you should change the plot. Take Harry Potter for instance. Instead of having them all witches and wizards, you could have them involved in the mob. Voldemort would be the mob boss and Harry would have to take him down." A few students laughed at the comparison, and one boy jotted the idea down.

"And you can't use my idea!" the teacher added firmly and the boy's face fell. "I'll pick partners now." Everyone scooted closer to people they would prefer to be with. Bella moved towards Alice, as did Jasper. Edward stayed put, not really knowing who he wanted to be paired with. The teacher walked around slowly, setting up pairs, and he finally reached the back of the classroom where Edward sat with his old friends, feeling awkward and uncomfortable.

"Okay…Miss Brandon with…" he began, and Bella looked up hopefully. "Mister Hale." Jasper looked thrilled while Alice sent an apologetic glance to Bella. Edward realized that Jasper must be hiding his love for Alice, just like he used to do when they were all unpopular and Alice was the popular one. Although he didn't understand why Jasper would hide it. They were socially equal, or so it seemed.

"And Miss Swan you'll be paired with…" He stared around for a moment and his eyes rested on me. "Mister Masen."

"No!" Bella blurted and the teacher raised his eyebrows. Edward stared in shock and slight offense. "Um, I mean, I would prefer working with somebody else, if you don't mind, sir. Please." She was literally begging. Edward didn't understand what he could've done to make Bella want to not be his partner so much. Had he offended her? Or was she just worried she would have to do all the work? Edward would prove he would do his fair share—he had hated having to do the work for others.

"I'm sorry Bella, but my decision is final. You and Mister Masen will have to put your differences aside and work on this project. I'm sorry," the teacher said, and he had an evil grin on his face like he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Fine," Bella pouted, and the way her lower lip jutted out was simply adorable. Edward took a moment to examine Bella. She was wearing dark clothes, darker than she used to wear, and she seemed thin—too thin almost. Her normally wavy hair hung limply over her shoulders, and she was slumped over in her desk, little arms folded over her chest. She stayed in that position for the rest of the class.

When Edward stood at the end of class, he was surprised to feel a small hand on his arm. Bella was holding him back, her face set. Edward waited anxiously as the class emptied slowly, a lot of eyes watching him and Bella suspiciously. Bella waited in stony silence until even the teacher had left the classroom. When they were completely alone, she whirled around to face Edward. He was surprised by the amount of hatred in her stare.

"Listen—I don't like you and you don't like me, but I'm not about to fail just because you're an asshole. I don't care what we do it on, but you're going to do an equal amount of work. We're just going to have to deal with being around each other. We can start working on it this weekend." Edward just stared. The forcefulness of her statement shocked him—and he kind of liked it. He wasn't used to this powerful, angry Bella. But he was glad she was standing up for herself.

He only wished he knew why she needed to stand up to him in the first place.

"Okay," Edward agreed finally, realizing Bella was waiting for an answer.

"Good. We can set up times and stuff tomorrow," she decided.

"Yeah definitely. I look forward to it," he said, trying to be more of a gentleman so maybe she wouldn't hate him as much. Bella made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat, shook her head, and stomped out of the classroom. Edward stared after her in shock, wondering what the hell he did to piss her off like that.

**A/N: Hmm? Responses? Sorry for the long time between updates. Busy life. And also I feel like I don't tell you guys how much I appreciate you. I love you guys! Your reviews are awesome, and although I can't reply to all of the reviews, I do read every single one and appreciate them all, I promise! Thanks to my beta .miserable . fate. for being totally awesome and helping me out! REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone.**

**I've decided I'm done with fan fiction, for now at least.**

**Honestly, go to my profile for more details. Basically things are stressful and crazy, I'm being plagiarized left and right and there isn't a thing I can do about it.**

**I hate to be the person to just quit on my stories, but I don't really think of it as quitting. It's just taking a long break, because I'm hoping that someday I'll be able to come back to my stories and finish them up. I want to work more on my personal, non fan fiction stories instead, and maybe even getting My Sunshine published, because I'm trying. I really hate doing this to you guys I feel like a total jerk, but it has to happen.**

**Also, I don't want anyone to finish my stories for me. It wouldn't really be my story anymore if they did, and I want to keep these things my own, plus I want to come back to this stuff, remember. Hopefully soon, maybe with summer vacation and things cooling down it'll be better. But for now, all of my stories are on hiatus.**

**I love you guys, you know that? I've had so much support in this past year since I've been on fan fiction, so much love and help and advice and friends. It's been amazing and I really never wanted to give it up, but for now I have to.**

**I hope you guys understand. I love you, and I feel like a total sap and a jerk and just awful. I'm so sorry.**

**Love always,**

**Nicole**


End file.
